Network switches are devices used to route data packets to other devices in a computer network. The number of connections supported by a network switch may be limited by the design footprint of the switch packaging and the surface area consumed by cable routing channels. For example, current Ethernet switches generally use an RJ45 connector for each network connection. The area of an RJ45 connector is approximately 21.46 millimeters (mm.) in length, 11.68 mm. in width, and 8.3 mm. in height. Due to the footprint of RJ45 connectors, current rack-mounted Ethernet switches with a one rack unit (1 U) footprint are typically limited to between 38 and 40 connections. If more connections are needed, another switch may be added to the rack. However, this approach requires another rack unit, thereby increasing the overall footprint to 2 U worth of rack space for the switches. In addition, adding another switch requires more cables, which may lead to increased costs and space congestion within a rack frame.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.